Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-09-29
How to make Wine.

All over California there arises cry
about the low price Of grapes. The
wineries find more raw material than
they can handle with convenience,
and hence the growers suffer. There
is only one way to remedy this evil
and that is by the growers making
their own wine. Wherever a man
has as much as fifty acres OF grapes
he should make his wine himself.
If he has not funds to lay down his
plant, let him borrow money and pro-
ceed. He will make money enough
the first year to pay off the debt. In
Europe vigneron who has five acres
of grapes is his own wine-maker. If
q man has not grapes enough to JUS
tify the building of winery on the
American basis of doing business and
Of interest rates, let him join with
some of his neighbors and get up a
cooperative concern.
Don't say this is impossible or i'm
practicable, or that it will not pay.
No such statement is worth copper
in the face of facts which we happen
to know. Last summer,a year ago, at
Downey City, few vignerons who
remembered the low price paid for
grapes the previous fall, got together
and formed an association to build a
winery, and make their own wine.
THESE men incorporated under the
laws of the State, and issued certifi-
Gates of stock. Not one of them paid
any money for his stock. He gave
his notes bearing ten per cent. inter-
est per annum. These were placed
with one of our local banks as collat-
eral for all the money needed to get a
lot, put up building, place a plant
therein and buy cooperage for one
vintage. A surplus was obtained to
buy grapes outside the combination,
a nd to pay for operating expenses
during the vintage. On this basis
work was begun and carried on. In
due time there was "a good stock of
wine in the cellars of the company,
and when an opportunity offered this
was sold for cash. Out of the pro-
ceeds each stockholder was handed
the price of his grapes at current rates
paid by other winners during the sea-
son, and the balance lifted all the
notes at the bank, paying in full all
obligations of the corporation. The
stockholders notes were all handed
back to the makers, and they had
their stock fully paid up, and that
stock represented in real value,
the building with it's machin-
cry, tanks and cooperage,
more than the face of the stock.
These shares, it will be observed, cost
the holders not one dollar.
The vintage OF this year is now in
full swing, and the Downey Wine
Company is busy crushing grapes all
day long, all the days of the week.
The success of this company has
caused the erection of second
winery at Downey City, and the re-
suit is that grapes are worth more
there than in any other portion of this
county. Grapes are being hauled
from Los Angeles to Downey City,
and the owners are getting $3.50 per
ton more there than is obtainable
here. That is purely the result OF
energy intelligently used on the part
of our friends in Downey City.
Here is fact worth a whole book
full of theory. 1t points out the only
intelligent course of action for the
grape growers of the State. 1t will
work like charm wherever it is
tried. The grapes crushed at the
Downey City winery turn out one
and forty to one hundred and
sixty gallons of wine per ton. AT the
lowest price for still wine, ten cents
per gallon, that is $l4 to $16 per ton.
The winery in question makes good
wine which is sold to the distillers
at 20 much per cent of the brandy